It’s very possible that we’ve gotten so comfortable watching Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Modern Family that we’ve forgotten how superb an actor he really is. The fact is that even though he makes delivering those funny lines look effortless, comedy is not easy. No one can deny that being the only one on stage for 90 minutes is hard work; add to that the fact that he’s playing at least 40 different characters, and even the most hard-boiled theatergoer has to marvel at how well he brings Fully Committed to life. Ferguson is Sam, a much put upon reservations phone receptionist at an upscale New York eatery. He’s really an actor at heart, but on the day we see him in action, he’s been left alone to deal with a dizzying array of would-be customers and his colleagues at the restaurant. The scene is frantic, and more than a little crazy. In house, in addition to the big name chef who has a definite chip on his shoulder, there’s the nearly helpless English hostess who needs Sam to clean up a horrific mess; Oscar, the Indian who forgets what he had to say, but is happy when Sam’s acting career is on the upswing; the Hispanic kitchen worker who cheerfully tells him he’s screwed; and the French maître d’ who turns his nose up at a customer because “she’s so ugly.” The restaurant is fully booked for over a month, thus the title of the play. No one wants to hear that there’s no room available. Of course, for VIPs, exceptions can be made. Gwyneth Paltrow is bringing in 15 people on Saturday; someone on her staff will be sent in to change a lightbulb so the lighting is softer. There must be a Vegan tasting menu with all sorts of prohibitions, and no female servers must be on the wait staff at Gwyneth’s table. An extremely bombastic woman blasts Sam because he can’t find her reservation. The verbal, and very vulgar, insults fly at the poor redhead, and even getting a chance to eat, urinate, or speak with his father about getting home for Christmas becomes a chore. He’s offered bribe money, and a chance to further his career, both of which bring light to an otherwise dark day. A rival actor frenemy keeps crowing on the phone about an upcoming callback for a role at Lincoln Center, which both he and Sam assume Sam won’t get. When Sam calls his theatrical agency, he gets the brush-off. It’s a near miracle that not only must JTF portray an array of very strong personalities with distinctive accents and vocal mannerisms, he’s also contending with three different phones. There’s the one on his desk, which is strictly for reservations; his cell phone, where he receives a plea from his brother to come help their recently widowed father deal with the holidays; and the red hotline to the chef, who proves to be a rather sadistic prima donna. Ferguson must keep straight which buttons to push, very quickly and in sync. There’s also a plug-in, plug-out device in his pocket. It’s a ballet of coordination, and how he keeps it all together is something of a theater miracle. An added treat is that Fully Committed may well be the place to see the real luminaries of the culinary world in the audience. The chef inquires how his cookbook is selling in comparison with Bobby Flay’s. When Sam tells him that Flay’s sales are far below his own, he crows “What a loser!” In the row ahead of me, Bobby Flay himself laughs at the joke. When I approached Flay, who looks ridiculously handsome and at least 10 years younger than he does on TV, he was very gracious in stating his opinion about the show. Would he recommend it? “Absolutely!” Was it true to life spent working in restaurants? “Yes, certainly. It’s an animated version of reality.” So, in addition to giving a brilliant performance and receiving an enthusiastic standing ovation from the audience, Jesse Tyler Ferguson also has a seal of approval from Chef Bobby Flay himself.
